Interviews

I read the announcement that "The Old Farmer’s Almanac" now has an iPad version and I realized that even though I've heard about it many times, I actually have no clue what The Old Farmer’s Almanac is.

So I got in touch with Janice Stillman, the 13th editor of the Almanac and its first female editor to tell me what the Almanac is, what it does and how it's still interesting and relevant in the 21st century!

I was joined on tonight's YML by Christina Warren of Mashable. Christina has been openly and bravely speaking up about her depression and, in light of the recent suicide of Robin Williams, I wanted to talk to her about what depression is and what can be done about it.

On last night's show, I spoke to Eddie Murphy, Epson's Digital Imaging Professional, about many aspects of printing. Eddie was a great interview and we spoke at length on a wide range of topics - including his love of bulkheads!

I had a great conversation with Ken Segall, former Apple and NeXT Creative Director (and the guy who coined the term "iMac"), about Apple's former VP of Retail Ron Johnson and the challenges he faces as the CEO of JC Penny. You can read Ken's article, "Meanwhile, over at Ron Johnson’s place…" here.

Paul Scandariato is the Vice President of Marketing for Apparent Software, makers of the very cute and very useful Doxie line of "personal scanners". They have just announced their latest model, the Doxie One and Paul sat down with YML to talk about it.

A Very Nice Web Site's John Moltz went up to Seattle to check out the launch of Microsoft's Surface tablet at their very own Microsoft Store. He was kind enough to sit down with YML to give his impressions of the store, the launch event and the Surface itself.

Dave Hamilton of The Mac Observer's Mac Geek Gab wrote an article - "Digging Into Apple’s Fusion Drive Details" - that helped to explain Apple's announcement of the new kind of drive in the latest version of the iMac and Mac mini. He took the time to talk to Your Mac Life about the Drives.

A New York based not-for-profit called "Orangutan Outreach" has begun a program called called "Apps for Apes" in twelve zoos across North America. They are letting the orangutans play with (but not use on their own) donated iPads.

Like other highly intelligent creatures, orangutans can get bored or depressed without mental stimulation. The iPads, or more specifically, the apps on them, help keep them entertained. Apparently, apps created for children are popular and the apes are said to be fond of nature documentaries by David Attenborough. Insert your own joke here.

I spoke to Orangutan Outreach's Executive Director, Richard Zimmerman about the program, the orangutans and how you can get involved and help these wonderful animals.

Award winning actress and New York Times best selling author Jamie Lee Curtis has turned one of her books, "Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery", into an iPad book, full of wonderful illustrations, clever animations and even little Easter Eggs.

I was lucky enough to spend a short time talking to Ms Curtis and I wasted far too much of it being a fan boy. But she was kind and gracious and utterly lovely. I hope you enjoy listening to the interview as much as I did doing it.

Next Issue Media wants to be "the Netflix of magazines" and the have just released an iPad app that allows you access to 39 digital magazines - TIME, Esquire, Sports Illustrated, Wired, Bon Appétit, Golf Digest and many more.

Ron Avitzur is a former programming contractor at Apple back in the 1990s. When his project was cancelled, he didn't take the opportunity to join a startup or travel or sit back on his laurels - he snuck back into 1 Infinite Loop to finish the job!

I spoke to Ron about what it was like to work on the ultimate "skunkworks" job at Apple and how he managed to pull it off.

Eric Cheng is the Director of Photography for Lytro (and a very accomplished photographer in his own right). I met Eric at a Lytro demo at the Apple Store in San Francisco during WWDC last week and he agreed to talk about the fascinating Lytro "light field" camera.

As the article says, "Sandboxing refers to compartmentalizing what data and features a specific app is granted access to; apps each can metaphorically play exclusively in their own sandbox, accessing only that data which Apple has granted that app entitlements to see." but it's not quite as simple and cut and dried as that. Lex helps Shawn understand what it is and how it will affect users and developers.

Frommer's is an acknowledged expert in the field of travel guides. They are now taking their expertise and creating stunning "Day by Day" guides for the iPad and iPhone that will be essentials for travelers at every level.

We had a wonderful chat with Ensley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, Frommer's Travel Guides, about the guides, what you'll find in them and how you can get the most out of your travel experience.

While you may not be familair with her name, you are certainly familiar with her iconic photography of babies in unusual yet compelling situations. She has a new Mac app out called "My First Five Years" and she was kind enough to spend some time talking about it and her photography with with YML this week.

As an ad agency creative director, Ken Segall was a key player in Apple’s resurrection. He helped create marketing campaigns such as "Think Different" and was the guy who "named the iMac".

His new book, Insanely Simple, "explains the ten elements of Simplicity that drive Apple’s success, illustrating each with previously untold stories. It takes you inside Steve Jobs’s world to show you how he enforced the rules of Simplicity—sometimes with humor, sometimes with brutality, but always with amazing success."

Regular YML listeners know that one of our co-hosts, Ian Schray, is also one of the founders of WellRedApps. You also know he's been teasing us with an announcement for months now. Well, it's finally here.

Today, WellRedApps announced DropKey - a new utility for Mac OS X Lion that allows users to quickly and easily encrypt sensitive documents. Ian and Shawn talked about what Public-Key Cryptography is and how you can use DropKey to take advantage of it.

We've all had aquariums in our lives but I bet you've never seen one as cool-geeky as this one!

Jake Harms rescues old iMacs destined for the scrap heap and expertly turns them into fish tanks that would look good in any room or office. I talked to Jake about the idea, how he turns the iMacs into aquariums and how you can back him on Kickstarter and get your very own!

Sir Jonathan Ive, Jony to his friends, is arguably one of the world’s most influential Londoners. The 45-year-old was born in Chingford — and went to the same school as David Beckham. He met his wife, Heather Pegg, while in secondary school. They married in 1987, have twin sons and now live in San Francisco.

As Apple’s Senior Vice President of Industrial Design, he is the driving force behind the firm’s products, from the Mac computer to the iPod, iPhone and, most recently the iPad. He spoke exclusively to the Evening Standard at the firm’s Cupertino headquarters.

There are two types of coroners - the TV kind and the real world kind. The TV ones are more celebrated but the real world kind are more interesting.

YML was lucky enough to talk to Sacramento County Coroner Greg Wyatt, fresh off his session at the 2012 Macworld. Greg talked about what a coroner does, the technology they have available and how he uses Macs and iPads in his his job.

And you'll be happy to hear that even though he may have a creepy job, he's a fun and engaging interview subject.